Stablecoins were supposed to be the boring uncle of the crypto world — safe, sensible and dull. They’re probably not what Satoshi Nakamoto had in mind, but they’re supposed to be a reassuring haven of calm and utility away from the turbulence of pure-play cryptocurrencies. With values pegged to fiat currencies, stablecoins were intended to be useful rather than to offer get-rich-quick schemes. They play an important role in the cryptocurrency ecosystem by providing a safer place to store capital without having to cash out entirely, and allowing assets to be denominated in fiat currencies rather than volatile tokens. However, …

Much to the chagrin of cryptocurrency investors across the ecosystem, the bear market has officially set in and brought with it devastating price collapses that have left relatively few unscathed. As the popular topic of conversation now centers on bearish predictions of how low Bitcoin (BTC) will go and how long this iteration of the crypto winter will last, those with more experience on the matter know that it’s virtually impossible to predict the bottom and it would be wise to apply those energies elsewhere. Instead of focusing on the when of the end, perhaps it’s more constructive to explore …

Regulate now or regret it later, United States Federal Reserve Board vice chairperson Lael Brainard told an audience at a Bank of England conference in London on Friday. Crypto has the same basic risks as tradition finance and needs “strong guardrails,” Brainard claimed, pointing to the recent downturn in market as proof. Brainard spoke the most general terms throughout her speech. She highlighted recent performance issues in cryptocurrency, such as volatility, correlation with risky equities, liability to bank runs and other risks associated with traditional finance, and over-collateralization as a stress amplifier. As crypto becomes more integrated into the more …

A United States-based lobbying group has raised a voice against developing a central bank digital currency (CBDC) in the United States. The National Association of Federally-Insured Credit Unions (NAFCU) believes the project’s cost outweighs the “hypothesized benefits.” In a public letter to the U.S. Commerce Department, dated Tuesday, Andrew Morris, the senior counsel for research and policy at NAFCU, claimed that the costs would outweigh the benefits and that there are superior alternatives for accomplishing the same objectives. The letter came in response to the Department’s request for comment (RFC) on digital assets. While the full text of the letter …

Hope springs eternal for many crypto investors after the market saw positive price movement on July 7, alongside gains in the traditional market. The green day in the markets comes amid a backdrop of increasing jobless claims in the United States, which is a possible signal that “the pressure on wages may have now peaked,” according to Harris Financial Group Managing Partner Jamie Cox. According to Cox, a continuation of this trend could result in financial conditions that are “tight enough to allow the Fed to throttle back on the scale of rate increases." Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and …

Bitcoin (BTC) is due to give a definitive signal that a macro bottom is in this month, one analyst has concluded. In a Twitter thread on July 6, popular commentator Wolf eyed key moving average data as proof that BTC price action will not be going lower. Key chart crossover eyed as end to bear market losses Amid repeated calls for BTC/USD to revisit levels not seen since Q4 2020, one simple historical trend is now saying that the pair has already seen its latest macro lows. Analyzing the 3-day chart, Wolf argued that the 100-day moving average (MA) crossing …

US government officials who privately own cryptocurrencies are now banned from working on regulations and policies that could affect the value of digital assets. A new advisory notice released by the US Office of Government Ethics (OGE) on Tuesday stated that the de minimis exemption — which allows for the owners of securities who hold an amount below a certain threshold to work on policy related to that security — is universally inapplicable when it comes to cryptocurrencies and stablecoins. “As a result, an employee who holds any amount of a cryptocurrency or stablecoin may not participate in a particular …

A note published by the United States Federal Reserve at a recently held conference found a majority of exports believe a U.S. dollar central bank digital currency (CBDC) would not drastically change the global currency ecosystem. Panelists at the conference also agreed that CBDC development outside of the U.S. doesn’t threaten the status of the dollar, but the development of cryptocurrencies could alter the role of the dollar globally, with some saying stablecoins could even boost the U.S. dollar's role as the global dominant reserve currency. The assessments came from expert panelists at a June 16 and 17 conference hosted …

Bitcoin (BTC) returned under $20,000 on June 29 as analysts stayed hopeful of a trip higher. Traders looks to $19,500 for support Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView followed BTC/USD as it crossed below the $20,000 mark for the first time in nearly a week in Asian trading hours. The weakness followed rangebound behavior near $21,000, this characterizing a market still in tune with moves in global equities. The S&P 500 had finished its previous session down 2%, while the Nasdaq Composite Index lost 3%. On the day, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was likewise 2.1% lower, while China’s Shanghai …

Cardano (ADA) has started painting a bearish continuation pattern on its longer-timeframe charts, raising its likelihood of undergoing a major price crash by August. ADA price in danger of a 60% plunge Dubbed the "bear pennant," the pattern forms when the price consolidates inside a range defined by a falling trendline resistance and rising trendline support after a strong move downside. Additionally, the consolidation moves accompany a decrease in trading volumes. Bear pennants typically resolve after the price breaks below their trendline support and, as a rule, could fall by as much as the height of the previous big downtrend, …

Ethereum’s native token Ether (ETH) has declined by more than 35% against Bitcoin (BTC) since December 2021, with a potential to decline further in the coming months. ETH/BTC dynamics The ETH/BTC pair’s bullish trends typically suggest an increasing risk appetite among crypto traders, where speculation is more focused on Ether’s future valuations versus keeping their capital long-term in BTC. Conversely, a bearish ETH/BTC cycle is typically accompanied by a plunge in altcoins and ETH’s decline in market share. As a result, traders seek safety in BTC, showcasing their risk-off sentiment within the crypto industry. Ethereum TVL wipe-out Interest in the …

Ethereum's native token, Ether (ETH), gained alongside riskier assets as investors assessed weak U.S. economic data and its potential to cool down rate hike fears. Ether mirrors risk-on recovery ETH's price climbed up to 8.31% on June 24 to $1,225, six days after falling below $880, its lowest level since January 2021. Overall, the upside retracement brought bulls 40% in gains, raising anticipation about an extended recovery in the future while alleviating fears of a "clean fakeout." For instance, independent market analyst "PostyXBT" projected ETH's price to close above $1,300 by the end of June. In contrast, analyst "Wolf" feared …